The Morning After
by Clez
Summary: This is for those of you who needed closure after 'Linguists & Greasemonkeys' : R&R please


(For those of you who needed closure after 'Linguists & Greasemonkeys)  
  
  
  
THE MORNING AFTER  
  
  
  
Ensign Hoshi Sato had not been awake long, but she had been awake long enough to know what had happened the night previous. She hadn't known how this had happened, or why. all she knew was, it had. And there was nothing she could do about it now.  
  
But, she realised then, that she didn't want to change any of it. There was nothing wrong with what had happened. and she didn't find herself regretting anything.  
  
She glanced over to her right, and smiled. He was still asleep. He looked so peaceful, just lying there. Was he dreaming?  
  
Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III had walked her home, and after that. well, things had taken quite an unexpected turn. They had started kissing, and, well. it had just progressed after that.  
  
She smiled again, and sighed. She wanted to get out of bed, get ready for her next shift, but she felt it a shame to wake him, especially when he looked so peaceful as he did now. Plus, she didn't know what Trip was like in the mornings after being woken up.  
  
She stroked back some of his tousled hair, and sat up in the bed, pulling some of the covers up with her. She stared at a far point on the distant wall, and let herself become lost in thought.  
  
What will happen now? Will we be one of those couples who are afraid to let our relationship come out in the open. will we have to hide it? I don't want that. but what would the others think?  
  
She frowned. It occurred to her then that sneaking around may very well become part of their lives. if their relationship wasn't just a one- off kind of event.  
  
She found herself hoping it was more than that. She didn't want to be like women she had known back on Earth. She loved romance, and relationships that lasted, ones that meant something, to both people in the coupling.  
  
Hoshi let her shoulders slump slightly, and her frown deepen. This wasn't how she had imagined her life aboard Enterprise. But then again, last night wasn't how she had imagined spending the evening with the Commander.  
  
Oh my god. what will T'Pol think if she finds out? She felt her eyes widen, and she almost lost her self to panic. Instead, she took a couple of deep breaths, and glanced down at Trip again.  
  
He was laying on his front, still asleep. She wanted to wake him, in a subtle way, to signal to him that their next shift started in just over a couple of hours.  
  
Sighing lightly, she reached over, and grabbed hold of her nightgown. As she slipped out from under the covers, she put it on, letting it fall about her ankles gracefully. She headed for the bathroom, intending to comb her long black hair.  
  
She walked softly into the small bathroom, and took her brush in her hand, running it through her silky hair over and over again, until she felt that it was free of knots. Satisfied, she placed the brush back on the counter, and stared at herself in the mirror.  
  
As always, she was wide awake, no hint of sleep in her eyes or expression. She looked as though she had been awake for hours. She had been like that for years, to bed late, up early, and she supposed it had just had a lasting effect on her. She wondered then how long she could go without enough sleep.  
  
Her black hair flowed over her shoulders gracefully, shining elegantly in the bathroom light. She smiled.  
  
Hoshi turned, and headed back out of the bathroom.  
  
When she walked back into the main room, she found that Trip was awake. He was seated on the edge of the bed, half dressed already.  
  
She suddenly found herself feeling a little awkward. She didn't know what to say, or do.  
  
"Morning," he said to her, and it seemed from the way he spoke that he felt the same way too.  
  
"Morning," she replied, standing still in the middle of the room.  
  
He sighed softly, ran a hand through his ruffled hair, and stood.  
  
He was dressed in the standard blue vest and shorts, which all the men aboard Enterprise wore beneath their uniforms.  
  
Hoshi felt a little silly in her nightgown. She suddenly felt the urge to get dressed.  
  
Trip picked his uniform off of the ground, and pulled it on, zipping it up halfway. He sat o the edge of the bed again, and put on a sock. He then started looking around, searching for the other one.  
  
Hoshi looked down, and located it near her foot. She bent down, and picked it up, holding it slightly in the air. She smiled. "Looking for this?"  
  
He looked up at her, and smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."  
  
He stood, and walked over to her, intending to retrieve the sock.  
  
Hoshi, held it away from him. although she wasn't sure why she did so. She wore a mischievous grin on her face, and looked into his blue eyes.  
  
He laughed. "Can I have my sock?"  
  
She cocked her head, and held the sock behind her back. She shook her head. "Nope."  
  
He laughed, and made a grab for the sock behind her back.  
  
She laughed, and stepped backwards, and out of the way.  
  
"You wanna play games, huh?" he asked, and now he too wore a playful look on his handsome face.  
  
She tried not to laugh, instead simply standing there, waving the sock at him, as if taunting him.  
  
He lunged at her, grabbing for the sock, but she ducked out of the way, moving behind him, and nearer to the bed. She giggled.  
  
He turned to her, and they faced each other off for a moment.  
  
And then he leapt at her, knocking her backwards, and onto the bed. He grabbed the sock out of her hand, and held it up, and away from her.  
  
She laughed hysterically.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to stifle a laugh of his own.  
  
"You're." she pointed at his hand, which was clutching her side gently. "That tickles!" She started laughing again, and tried to wriggle away from him.  
  
The look of mischief returned to his features, and he threw the sock behind him, and started to attack with both hands, tickling her mercilessly.  
  
She laughed loudly, trying not to scream, so as not to attract unnecessary attention to what was going on in her room.  
  
"Stop it!" she pleaded, trying to squirm away, without much success.  
  
He laughed, and continued.  
  
"Trip. we have a shift!" she told him, through bursts of unstoppable laughter.  
  
At that, he sighed, and just gazed deep into her eyes, smiling that handsome smile of his.  
  
She was grateful for the relief in the tickling, and she smiled up at him thankfully.  
  
"So," he said, looking down at her, not showing any signs of moving off of her, "what are we going to do about this?"  
  
"What, the sock?" she joked, blowing a strand of hair from her face.  
  
He shook his head. "You know what I'm talking about."  
  
She sighed then, and frowned. "I don't know. That's really up to you."  
  
He cocked his head.  
  
"You're the senior officer. it's your call. I mean, if we're going to have to hide this, then I don't think we should-"  
  
He shook his head, and said, "I'm the senior officer, you said so yourself, and I'm gonna have to pull rank."  
  
She smiled. "You mean.?"  
  
He nodded, and leaned down, planting a kiss on her that said everything.  
  
Hoshi was pleased, even though she hadn't thought she would be. But why shouldn't she?  
  
"Do you think we should tell anybody?"  
  
He sighed, and let her sit up, kneeling on the bed, gazing at her pensively. "I'm not too sure about that yet. We'll have to think about that later.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Time to get ready," he told her, patting her on the leg gently. He stood, and put on his other sock. Then he started putting on his boots.  
  
She simply sat there, watching him with a smile on her face.  
  
It was then that she realised how she felt for him.  
  
  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I don't think that really qualifies as closure, but I hope you guys are pleased with the morning after scenario. I couldn't really think of what to do, so I just pictured it as best I could in my head, and tried to make it entertaining. I hope it worked. Enjoy! 


End file.
